A blind man cultivates immortality and witnesses the great secret of the holy maiden in her bridal c

Duan Zhengde hurriedly strode to the center of the two groups of people, his chest rising and falling slightly as he exhaled a breath of pent-up air. He quickly raised his hand to stop the crowd and shouted, "Everyone, please don't be impulsive! Listen to me!"

"These fellow Daoists are members of our alliance against the Holy Fire Cult. They broke into the church just now, so they must have come specifically to rescue me! Fellow Daoists, this place is not safe to stay any longer. Let's withdraw from Balin City first, and we'll discuss the details later!"

Chen Yang nodded slightly, his expression calm and indifferent. Without saying anything more, he led everyone to follow Duan Zhengde and his group to leave Bahrain City, which was heavily guarded and full of Holy Fire Sect spies.

The two groups successfully reunited and fled at breakneck speed, eventually arriving at an abandoned village 20 kilometers outside Bahrain.

The entire village was deathly silent, with no smoke rising from chimneys. The doors of every house were dilapidated and overgrown with weeds. There was no trace of ordinary people left, except for the cultivators who had rebelled against the Holy Fire Cult Alliance, who had secretly encamped and hid there.

Everyone stopped in their tracks, exchanging names and introducing themselves, completely easing the tense atmosphere. After some conversation, they learned that Duan Zhengde was the leader of the regional alliance against the Holy Fire Cult.

When Duan Zhengde learned that Chen Yang and his group were cultivators from the Dongyuan Kingdom, which was separated by the sea, he was deeply moved and grateful. He quickly cupped his hands in thanks to them.

Duan Zhengde's face was full of bitterness. He sighed helplessly and said in a deep voice, "Fellow Daoist Chen, I am truly grateful for your help this time. However, the situation in our European Kingdom is already in utter ruin!"

"No one knows what kind of bewitching Her Majesty the Empress has been under, as if she has lost her mind and has completely become a henchman of the Holy Fire Cult, doing her best to promote the doctrines of the Holy Fire Cult throughout the country and ruthlessly suppressing all cultivators and common people who resist or do not submit."

"I suspect she must have been bewitched and imprisoned by the strange power of the Sacred Flame Altar! But Her Majesty the Empress possesses formidable cultivation, having already reached the Golden Core Realm, and her mind is incredibly resilient. Logically, she should not be easily controlled, yet even she cannot break free from the Sacred Flame Altar's shackles. It is truly despairing!"

Just as Duan Zhengde was filled with grief and emotion, Eliza, who was standing beside Chen Yang, slowly raised her hand to remove the light veil covering her face and the wide hat covering her body, and walked slowly out from the crowd.

Her gaze was calm as she looked at Duan Zhengde, whose face was full of worry, and she softly questioned, "Fellow Daoist Duan, the empress you speak of who sits in the palace and promotes the doctrine of the Holy Fire Sect may not be the real her. It is very likely that someone has secretly taken her place."

Duan Zhengde glanced at Eliza, then shook his head slightly without hesitation, his tone firm: "How could that be?"

"Empress Eliza commands two top-tier forces: the Golden Knights and the Round Table Council. Her subordinates are all battle-hardened elites and highly skilled warriors, making her rule over the entire European nation deeply entrenched and unshakeable!"

"Furthermore, the Empress herself is a Golden Core cultivator with unparalleled combat power throughout the country. If she were to strongly oppose it, the Holy Flame Sect would have no chance of successfully implementing its doctrines within the European Kingdom!"

Upon hearing this, Eliza could only shake her head helplessly, a deep weariness and bitterness flashing across her eyes.

Just then, behind Duan Zhengde, an elderly man with white hair and a face full of wrinkles suddenly widened his eyes, staring intently at Eliza, his voice filled with disbelief as he exclaimed, "Wait! Fellow Daoist, your appearance... is exactly the same as Empress Eliza!"

Upon hearing this, Eliza's clear, beautiful eyes trembled slightly as she looked at the old man.

The old man stepped forward, his voice trembling and dazed after a long time, and said earnestly, "It's not that we look alike, it's...it's true."

"Two years ago, I attended the banquet when the Baring City Monks' Guild was being established. I had a long talk with you then, and we discussed the details of the establishment of the Baring City Monks' Guild together."

The old man trembled violently, his cloudy eyes instantly filled with tears, and he stared intently at the woman before him.

Eliza nodded slightly, recognizing him: "I remember you. You're Liu Zhenwei, formerly the patriarch of the Liu family in Baling City, right?"

Upon receiving confirmation from the Queen herself, Liu Zhenwei could no longer suppress his emotions. He staggered forward, his eyes red-rimmed, almost weeping, and choked out, "Your Majesty! It really is you! What is going on? Who is that person in the palace? If this continues, our entire European Kingdom will truly be utterly destroyed!"

Upon hearing this, all the members of the resistance alliance around them instantly turned to look at Eliza, their eyes filled with shock.

Most of the people in the alliance had only heard of the Queen's fame and had never seen her in person; a few had admired her from afar, but the distance was too great to make out her features clearly, so they dared not confirm it.

At this moment, after Liu Zhenwei's identification and everyone's mutual verification, everyone finally realized with horror that the seemingly ordinary woman beside them was actually the real Queen of Europe, Eliza!

Duan Zhengde's pupils constricted, his face filled with disbelief. He strode forward, his voice trembling violently, "Your Majesty! Is it really you? Then who is it that now sits in the palace of Saint-Denis, ruling over the entire European Kingdom?"

Eliza let out a slow sigh and recounted her tragic ordeal of being betrayed, imprisoned, and replaced. Her eyes were filled with self-blame and helplessness: "It was my incompetence. I never imagined that I would be secretly poisoned and betrayed, not only having my cultivation sealed and my soul trapped, but also having my identity as empress quietly stripped away and replaced."

"For the past six months, I have been secretly imprisoned by the people of Red Abyss Valley, living in complete darkness. If it weren't for Fellow Daoist Chen and his group rescuing me, I'm afraid I would never have had the chance to see the light of day again in my life."

Upon hearing Eliza's tragic story, Duan Zhengde and all the cultivators of the resistance alliance present had tears in their eyes and sobbed softly. No one could have imagined that the dignified supreme ruler of the European Kingdom, the Golden Core Realm Empress, would suffer such humiliation and misery.

After a brief moment of grief, Duan Zhengde's body jolted, his eyes suddenly blazing with brilliant light, and he shouted, "Everyone, don't be sad! We have incredibly good news!"

"The true Queen Elizabeth is still alive and steadfast in her righteous path, secretly resisting the Holy Fire Cult! If we proclaim this to the world, all the deceived people and monks will surely awaken to the truth!"

Upon hearing this, the members of the Resistance Alliance instantly shook off their days of dejection and depression. Their eyes gleamed with excitement, and they nodded vigorously.

After a moment's thought, Duan Zhengde's eyes hardened, and he continued, "We must make a big scene about this! We must expose the fake empress's true colors in public, reveal the whole truth, awaken everyone in the country, and expose the Holy Fire Cult's conspiracy to the light of day!"

Eliza's eyes sharpened, a cold glint in them, and she nodded slightly in agreement: "Alright. I also want to see for myself what kind of person is taking my place, what their ultimate goal is in scheming to seize power and attach themselves to the Holy Fire Cult."

The two hit it off immediately and finalized the plan in no time.

Duan Zhengde solemnly bowed to Eliza and respectfully said, "Your Majesty, please follow us back to the headquarters of the Resistance Alliance. Thousands of clear-headed and righteous cultivators have now gathered there, most of whom have reached the Divine Power Realm! More importantly, our alliance leader is none other than Lord Zhao Xianghe!"

"So it was the resistance alliance led by Prime Minister Zhao." Eliza nodded slowly, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes. "No wonder the plan was so meticulous. Prime Minister Zhao has always been exceptionally intelligent and meticulous. He is a pillar of our European Kingdom, and his cultivation is at the half-step Golden Core stage, only one step away from the Golden Core realm. With him in charge, our chances of turning the tide this time will indeed be greatly increased."

"That's right!" Duan Zhengde nodded emphatically, his tone impassioned. "Your Majesty, I will now take you back to headquarters. We will then discuss the plan in detail and head to the capital of Saint-Denis to publicly expose the false queen and the Holy Fire Cult's entire conspiracy!"